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DML/Dragon Model Company Kit #7040 1/700 Arizona |
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Reviewed By James Corley, # 35138 |
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| The kit assembles very easily. The instructions are clearly printed and illustrated to guide even the novice builder. The only items I did not use for this review were the brass railings provided in the kit. These will be added once I have painted the kit. | |||
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The Hull: The main parts of the hull went together very nicely. The foc'sl and fantail parts are a little shorter than the holes they are intended to fill. I simply matched the deck ends together and will fill the scuppers with a filler at a later date. The gun deck fits over the main hull very snugly and leaves little, if any, seam at the main deck. The 5" guns on the gun deck are very nicely cast and assemble easily. The boats are mostly a one piece affair, but the admirals gigs are two pieces and you have to be sure to remove the runner from under the top edge of the parts for them to fit nicely. I do not like the fact that the boats are molded in clear plastic as they become hard to see. |
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The Turrets: Each 14" turret comes with two complete sets of guns. I have shown the two in side-by-side fashion in the A & B turret positions. Both sets of parts allows the builder to elevate the guns independently - which might give rise to some interesting diorama possibilities. The gun assemblies are a little tricky to get into the turret housings correctly, but they will snap into place. The turret houses are cast metal, while the turret bases are plastic. The rangefinder arms on the base do not fit snugly under their metal counterparts on the top part. I am not sure how to fix the problem as I have not finished the research yet, but the easiest fix would be to sand the plastic parts flush with the metal ones. Each turret has a locking base to mount it onto the hull, much like tank models. |
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The Superstructure & Tripods The superstructure goes together very neatly, with the fit between parts number A21 and the gun deck being the only difficult part. The tripods are another story. As in every kit, this is the most difficult step, and Dragon did not find a way to make it easy. The foremast isn't too difficult as they show the assembly going onto the superstructure as the supporting legs attach. The Main Mast assembly is suggested to be assembled first, then put onto the ship as one part. This will not work very well for less experienced builders. I would suggest slipping the parts together with no glue and placing the base of the legs into their holes on the deck and then building upwards. This is a very frustrating assembly and needs more than the two hands we are issued with ... a set of "extra hands" would come in very handy. Another item I did not like about the tripods is that the fighting tops are made of rubber or vinyl while everything else is styrene. This forces the modeler to use CA glues because of the dissimilar nature ... the rubber will not bond with regular glues or Tenax type cements. |
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Review: The kit was very easy and enjoyable to build. The only problem I had was in the tripod masts, which not kit has made simple yet. This kit is not for beginners, but the novice with a few kits on the shelf should be able to make an easy project out of it. The kit has the potential to be a real stunner and is easily the best 1/700 Arizona on the market. The photo etch is a little heavy in the details and is light on the parts count. Many of the smaller guns could have and should have been presented in brass vice styrene. I would rate this kit 4 of 5 and is highly recommended. |
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